Float mechanism for urns



June 17, 1941.`

l R. slcA FLOAT MECHANISM FOR URNS v Filed'Jan. 13, 1940 INVENTOR /W fue@ /M ,ZM

ATTORNEY Patented June 17, 1941 J UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOAT MCHANISM non cans I Ralph sica, Philadelphia; Pa.

Application January 13, 1940, Serial No. 313,695

(cl.137-c8) 1 Claim.

It is customary in hotel and restaurants to employ a battery of urns, one or more of which are for supplying hot water for making the beverages to be dispensed, for example coffee, and others of which are for the dispensing of the beverage and the maintenance of the beverage at the proper temperature.

If the water becomes too low in an urn the bottom burns out and has to be replaced. 'I'his not only increases the cost of maintenance but an urn is out of use when it has to be removed for repairs.

The object, therefore, of this invention is to devise novel means separate and distinct from the conventional filling means, for introducing a trickle of water into the urn automatically to maintain a depth of water above the bottom of the urn suiiicient to prevent the destruction of the urn bottom.

With the above and other objects in view as will hereinafter clearly appear, my invention comprehends novel means for automatically introducing a trickle of water into an urn when the level of the water in the urn drops to a plane close to the bottom of the urn.

It further comprehends a novel construction and arrangement of a float valve mechanism.

Other novel features of construction and advantage will hereinafter more clearly appear in the detailed description and the appended claim.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawing a typical embodiment of it, which, in practice, will give satisfactory and reliable results. It is, however, to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and my invention is not limited to the exact arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein set forth.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an urn in conjunction with which a float valve mechanism embodying my invention is employed.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale of the float valve mechanism.

Figure 3 is a section on an enlarged scale of a portion of the valve mechanism.

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the float mechanism, the section being taken substantially on line ll-li of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view, partly b-roken away, of the oat rock shaft, showing more particularly the manner in which it is fixed to the float arm.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of a portion of the iioat arm and rock shaft with the valve casing in section.

Similar numerals indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawing:

I designates a tank casing having a water inlet 2 leading from a source of water supply and an outlet 3 leading to the bottom portion of a heated urn.

The water inlet 2 discharges into a valve casing 4 carried by the cover of the tank I and having a valve chamber 5 to receive a ball valve 6 which cooperates with a valve seat 'I surrounding the delivery port 8. A float 9 has a forked arm IIJ fixed at the end opposite the oat to a rock shaft II journalled in the valve casing 4 and extending through a delivery passage I2 at which location it is flattened cr cut away as at I3, directly below the valve seat 1, to thereby form a cam face I4 which will raise the ball valve 6, when the oat lowers. The ends of the rock shaft are preferably rectangularly recessed to receive the correspondingly shaped dellected ends of the yoke of the float arm. The upward movement of the float is limited by a stop I5 on the valve casing and in the path of upward movement of the float arm.

The ball valve is retained against its seat by the pressure of the water in the valve chamber, and is only slightly raised from its seat by the cam I4 when the water level in the tank I drops below its normal level shown at I6.

The tank cover I'I has a pipe I3 communicating with a gauge glass I9 which latter has a lower connection 2U and an upper connection 2| to the urn.

I'he tank outlet 3 communicates with the urn by a pipe 22, the discharge end of which is a short distance above the bottom of the urn.

The urn v23 has a conventional source of heat, for example a gas burner 24.

The operation will now be apparent and is as follows:

The urn is filled with water by a valve control or in any desired or conventional manner. When the water level approaches a level at which the bottom of the urn would burn out, the float moves downwardly, rocking the rock shaft II xedly connected with it and causing the cam I4 to raise the ball valve from its seat and permit a trickle of water to pass into the tank and therefrom into the bottom of the urn so that sufficient water in the bottom of the urn willalways be present to prevent it from being burned'out.

It is commercially impracticable to keep the urn filled with Water due to the expense of heat ing a large volume of cold water.

In accordance With this invention the level of the water in the urn can drop to a safe level in proximity to the bottom of the urn and be automatically maintained ai; such level.

Having thus Adescribed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The combination with a hot water urn, of a gauge glass at the side of the urn and in communication at its upper and lower ends with the urn, a tank positioned near the bottom of the urn, a pipe communicating with the lower end of the gauge glass and the upper end of the tank, a discharge pipe from the tank opening into the urn above and in proximity to its bottom, a valve casing in the tank having an inlet connected with a source of liquid supply, a discharge leading into the tank and a valve seat between said inlet and discharge, a Valve to engage said seat, a rock shaft rotatably mounted in the valve casing` extending across said discharge to substantially close it and having a at face, forming cam faces at opposite sides of said valve, positioned beneath the valve when the latter is seated, and a oat xed to said rock shaft and said valve casing having a stop limiting upward movement of the float to prevent one of said cam faces opening the Valve when the float moves upwardly.

RALPH SICA. 

